Saving the Earth beyond the Hour

By now, the phrase 'With great power comes great responsibility' should be all too familiar to everyone. So too is the friendly neighbourhood web-slinging superhero dressed in red and blue spandex.

Yup, Spider-Man swung into town last Saturday and it was all for a great cause. The Earth Hour lights off is an annual symbolic event that encourages the civic society to go beyond the hour and do their bit for the planet.

The world’s largest Earth Hour celebration took place at The Float@Marina Bay and a record number of approximately 9,000 attendees thronged the Floating Platform to witness Singapore’s Marina Bay skyline plunge into darkness for an hour between 8.30pm and 9.30pm.

And our family were part of that 9,000 strong contingent.

On hindsight, we should have packed a basket of food and indulge in a picnic on the fake turf... which would have kept the monkies (and their mouths) really busy while we awaited for the arrival of Spider-Man and friends. But knowing the monkies, I could always count on them to improvise while passing the time.

Yes, posing took up some time too.

As the clock ticked nearer to the Earth Hour, I made my way to the media area in anticipation. And it seemed like the rest of the crown were equally excited.

And then the man of the moment, Andrew Garfield who plays Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man movies made his appearance.

Along with the cast, director and producers of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Marc Webb, he quickly won over everyone when he quipped, "Steady lah!"

And then it was time.

Spider-Man was declared as the first Super Hero ambassador for Earth Hour with a message to inspire individuals to use their power to become superheroes for the planet. The stars and director of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had endorsed their support for WWF’s Earth Hour Blue platform, the world’s first crowdfunding platform, to save the planet which aimed to harness the power of the crowd to raise funds and support for on-the-ground environmental projects from across the world.

As the clock chimed 8.30pm, Spider-Man did the necessary and iconic buildings around the Marina Bay area turned their lights off in a show of support and commitment for the Earth Hour movement.

But but but... Earth Hour may have come and gone, but its work is never done. We must go beyond the hour in order to make a real difference. And for starters, these are just 4 of the many key actions that we can undertake to do our bit for the environment:

Turning up our air-conditioners by one degree

Using less plastic bags

Switching to LED lights

Taking quicker baths

We are our own Superheroes when it comes to saving the planet, something that Spider-Man will surely approve of.